Keeping your ears on fire since 2010…

Appeals Court Rules for Janet Jackson Super Bowl Case

We can always fall back on one thing Justin Timberlake did that truly brought us all together.

What was the most controversial moment in this generation’s broadcast television history has now reached a verdict.

Following her halftime show performance at Super Bowl XXXVIII in 2004, the Federal Communications Commission levied a $550,000 fine against Jackson and CBS for the now-infamous “wardrobe malfunction,” in which Jackson’s right breast was exposed after accompanying performer Justin Timberlake tugged at the singer’s top at the conclusion of the show.

The fine would be appealed, after a 2008 panel in Philadelphia originally found in favor of the network, however that decision was reopened by the Supreme Court.

On Wednesday, the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals reviewed three decades worth of FCC rulings only to conclude that the FCC was willingly changing its policy, without fair warning to the networks, to fit cases amidst public pressures. Simply put, the FCC was fining CBS for explicit scenes of ‘fleeting nudity,’ while similar cases that followed the live event had been excused.

“An agency may not apply a policy to penalize conduct that occurred before the policy was announced,” Circuit Judge Marjorie Rendell wrote.

Naturally, the FCC offered a genric response of displeasure on the ruling, with a spokesperson stating…”The FCC will continue to use all of the authority at its disposal to ensure that the nation’s broadcasters fulfill the public interest responsibilities that accompany their use of the public airwaves.”

Well, chalk up one more win for the fight against govenment-imposed morality.